Stripe to allow Cuban nationals to set up a U.S. business entity, bank
account, and more

HAVANA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As part of President Obama's historic trip to Havana next week, today
Stripe announced the expansion of Stripe Atlas to include Cuban
entrepreneurs.

For the first time, Atlas will give Cuban entrepreneurs access to:--
an incorporated U.S. business entity-- a U.S. bank account for the
newly-created U.S. entity-- a Stripe account to receive payments
from customers around the world

The basic infrastructure for starting an internet business in Cuba is
nearly nonexistent. The country's internet penetration is among the
lowest in the world, with less than 4% of the population online today.
In addition, the financial rails aren't in place to transact with
markets outside of Cuba. Hardly anyone has a credit card, so Cubans
can't pay -- or more importantly, get paid -- for things available
online to billions of people around the world. Despite these challenges
in their local market, more than 70% of Cubans surveyed recently said
they wanted to start their own business. Stripe Atlas will now allow
entrepreneurs to set up an online business and expand beyond Cuban
borders to sell to customers anywhere in the world.

“Today's announcement and our work with President Obama here in Havana
are about facilitating a smooth path for Cuban entrepreneurs into the
modern global economy," said Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe. "The
promise of the internet is that geography should be largely irrelevant.
But that is not yet true. Especially here in Cuba, people simply do not
have access to the high-quality banking or payments infrastructure they
need to join the internet economy."

Stripe Atlas gives entrepreneurs around the world a way to access the
robust business and banking infrastructure of a global business hub. The
U.S. is one of those hubs. Incorporating in Delaware, for example,
allows companies to easily issue stock to employees and raise money from
global investors. Delaware also provides the stability of clear
corporate rules and case law. In addition, many more business services
are available to U.S. companies than businesses located in emerging
economies.

To help identify and support Cuban entrepreneurs for whom Atlas can be
most useful, Stripe is working with Merchise Startup Circle, a
Havana-based group supporting the startup community across Cuba. "There
are lots of very good software developers, with very good ideas, inside
Cuba. But until now, there has been no way for people to put those ideas
into practice, no way to create a company that investors could put money
into," said Alex Medina, Co-founder and Director of Merchise Startup
Circle. "For the first time, Stripe Atlas will give people in our
community a way to start their own business online and get paid for the
things they create."

Stripe Atlas initially launched on February 24, 2016. During the beta
period, entrepreneurs will need an invitation from Stripe or one of our
70 incubator, accelerator and investor partners around the world,
including Merchise Startup Circle in Cuba. Beta pricing is $500 USD,
which includes around $400 of fees that anyone incorporating a Delaware
entity would have to pay. In preparing for the February launch, Stripe
worked closely with advisory board members including Lawrence Summers,
Fadi Ghandour, Linda Rottenberg and Ben Lawsky.

The expansion of Stripe Atlas to Cuba was facilitated by the rule
changes announced earlier this week by the Obama administration. Among
other things, the new regulations allow U.S. banks to open accounts for
Cuban nationals who reside in Cuba. There are still some restrictions on
the types of transactions that American banks are able to process;
therefore, Stripe and Silicon Valley Bank will apply normal account due
diligence, including reviewing applications from Cuban entrepreneurs and
ensuring that any banking services provided to the U.S. business entity
comply with the updated guidelines and restrictions.

"We're excited to work with entrepreneurs here in Cuba to help them get
started, expand their businesses, and access the full power of the
internet economy," said Patrick Collison.

About Stripe

Stripe is a technology platform that developers use to build internet
businesses. Thousands of businesses -- ranging from startups to Fortune
500 companies -- rely on Stripe’s software tools to accept payments,
expand globally, and create new revenue streams. Stripe has been at the
forefront of expanding internet commerce, powering new business models,
and supporting the latest platforms, from marketplaces to social
commerce. Stripe users include Twitter, Kickstarter, Shopify,
Salesforce, Lyft, and many more.

Stripe was founded in 2010 by John and Patrick Collison, who set out to
fix a critical problem: how online businesses could quickly and easily
accept payments from anyone, anywhere in the world. Today, merchants in
24 countries can use Stripe to accept payments in 130+ currencies, as
well as Apple Pay, Android Pay, Alipay and Bitcoin. By reducing the
barriers to starting and operating a business regardless of location or
means, Stripe aims to bring more would-be companies online and
accelerate the internet economy.

Stripe has received around $300 million in funding to date from
investors including Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers,
Visa, American Express, and PayPal founders Peter Thiel, Max Levchin,
and Elon Musk.